Saturday draft links

On Hageman: “NFL teams will pepper him with questions about his tough upbringing, his off-field decision-making and an academic suspension. They also want to see what he has to say about being such an inconsistent player.”

On ASJ: “He will be asked about a DUI and a team suspension. But the bigger issue might be Seferian-Jenkins’ inconsistencies on the field. He dominates at times and then disappears. Said one exec, ‘I want to get a feel for if I can trust him.'”

Eric Ebron isn’t lacking in confidence. In an interview with NFL.com, he stated his combination of size and speed should be “illegal”. He also rejected recent rumours that he’d gained weight during the off-season.

Very few players will impress more than Ebron at the combine if he turns up in peak condition. Can he run in the 4.5’s like Jimmy Graham and Jordan Cameron? That seems to be the benchmark for a difference making, pass-catching tight end.

If he’s going to go in the top-15 you get the feeling he’ll need a fast time. Several good tight ends have dropped after running anywhere between 4.6-4.8.

Angelo: “Something people don’t know: In the NFL, at some positions, character is less or more important than it is at other positions. In Clowney’s case, character is less important because of what he does. What Clowney does has rare value, so coaches and personnel people alike will compromise – and, in some cases, prostitute – character for his pass-rush prowess.”

Manziel on the prospect of being snubbed by Houston: “It would be the worst decision they’ve (the Texans) ever made… I’d be in the same division playing against them twice a year. Sorry, but you just turned that chip on my shoulder from a Frito into a Dorito.”

Unless he’s referring to Tennessee at #11, he clearly believes he’s going to the Jags if the Texans pass.

Stuff like this sounds great in a meeting room, when you can look a GM or Head Coach in the eye and make quite an aggressive pitch. It certainly worked for Peyton Manning, who once famously told Bill Polian before the 1998 draft, “‘If you pick me, I guarantee you that we will win a championship and we’ll have a great program here… If you don’t, I’ll come back and I’ll kick your ass.”

Unfortunately this kind of thing doesn’t have quite the same impact when you’re saying it to the media.

25 Responses to “Saturday draft links”

Just found a link the other day where Cosell predicted Christian Ponder and Ryan Mallett to be the best QB’s out of the 2011 draft. Found that rather amusing.

I think Manziel really needs to go to Houston where they have stability and talent. Shipping him to Oakland or Jacksonville would be a disaster- he’s not the guy to prop up a bad team ala Andrew Luck. Plus I think you need some of the “old guard” so to speak to keep him in line early on. Todd McShay said on ESPN yesterday he felt Manziel really benefited from Mike Evans’ presence- perhaps too much at times, carelessly throwing into traffic too much. Can’t deny the kids ability, but I’m not sure there’s enough finished product in him to warrant a top 5 selection.

“Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State (high-second round): Showed a strong arm against Oklahoma, with good juice on intermediate throws. Seems similar to Mark Sanchez. Good feel for the timing of the drop-back passing game and should transition well to the NFL. Reads coverage well, and can stick throws into a tight window, essential for an NFL quarterback. Needs to work on manipulating the secondary and eye discipline, and on recognition of safeties on deep throws. Must get quicker with footwork on his drop. A little uncomfortable in a muddied pocket. Feet have to calm down under pressure. More of a touch passer than a fastball pitcher. Comfortable throwing the ball to the outside with timing.”

Cosell is clearly a bright guy. I just think his dry and unimaginative style is much better suited to game analysis, X’s and O’s and such. When asked to look around the bend, he struggles. Some guys just know what to look for and how to look for it on a case by case basis, others follow a scouting algorithm. Cosell is the latter case.

So I’ve been doing some digging on my RB prospect out of CCU. Albeit speculation mostly, but apprently the Hawks showed some interest in Lorenzo Taliaferro at the senior bowl. He showed promise in blitz pickup and was savvy on what was his role and in general of the whole scheme. His burst was good for a big back. It appears he is not just a “FB convert” as some Michael honks would lead one to believe, but closer to the finished article and more “first snap ready” for a running game taylor-made for Marshawn Lynch. I would love Carlos Hyde, but that seems very unlikely. Taliaferro could be just what we are looking for to cement our ground game for the next few seasons. I’m excited to see what he does at the combine. It seems all we do is talk DL and WR lately. I just need a palate cleanser

You haven’t even seen him run. AND quite frankly, there is NO game tape on him. He was pounding on USC agaisnt SEC defenders in the only usable film I could see on him. I love how all the Christeen Michael honks love to say “FB convert”, but guess what? He was far more effective than Mike Tolbert at CCU, and would anyone consider Mike Tolbert a FB convert? So let’s have the kid run and go through the combine before we say anything about his game. Unless you happen to have some great sets of Coastal Carolina tape just lying around. I’m sure it’s as easy to find as Michaels tape from last season. Oh wait…

2. Considering the Hawks are SB champions we treat the team as if every position group is at least good enough if not outstanding. With that in view we draft into the most expensive groups so we clear some of the paid player in order to pay those upcoming dmands from the less expensive groups which are due soon. I.E. – Draft DLine and not Oline. Draft WRs and not LBs etc. Eventually the budget between the position groups will need to be ballanced and we need the replacments for the high paid players ready.

A combination of the above principles make drafting WR (Percy and Rice plus possibly Tate and Baldwin make this group expensive, CB (the secondary will be expensive onse Thomas and Sherman get thier extentions) and DE (The DLine is very expensive even without Bennett) the top priorities.

DT:
Hageman: He would be a very good fit here. Previously mocks had him going in the Top-15 and literally no shot making it to SEA. Questions about work ethic and consistency could have this monster fall in our lap.
Donald: Showed up BIGGER than his frame and will make an impact for whatever team grabs him

TE:
ASJ: Miller should be back on a altered deal. With Miller/Willson and either McCoy/cheap vet (Finley?), TE isn’t as big a need for this team. I think ASJ will have a productive career in the NFL, but doesn’t FLASH in the SEA sense.
Ebron: If Ebron happened to fall to #32 (0% chance), we’d jump all over him.

Personally, I think ASJ’s inconsistency and drop in production is overblown. After switching to a Chip Kelly style, fast paced offense, he didn’t as many opportunities as the Huskies were frequently throwing the ball to the sidelines. Quite frankly, he just didn’t fit the new offense whereas he was outstanding in a traditional offense.

On a side note Rob, I hope you are asked to do another google hangout. The one last year with Kenneth, Joe and Jacson was very entertaining.

A late round or even UDFA TE prospect for everyone to take a look at Xavier Grimble from USC.

He was one the top TE recruits in the country coming out of high school which we know PCJS take into account when drafting. He wasn’t very productive at USC but Lane Kiffin didn’t spread the ball around on offense very much. Willson wasn’t very productive either so maybe PCJS do not rate that as high for TE when drafting.

Most important is the name though. While he’s no Gator Hoskins (who is?) it’s still a great name.

Saw him in one of the Field Gulls Coffee & Cigarettes links today as well. Too bad there isn’t any video of him on draftbreakdown. He certainly looks good just in terms of height/weight. I’ll bet PC knows something about him, being a USC player. Here’s another TE very similar to Grimble in stature:

I watched tape on him earlier this year and didn’t see much to like. No instincts or decisiveness. Little fight, too. Gets consistently blown off the ball. Can’t play on the LOS either at end or force LB. doesn’t contain the edge. Lots of basic things; he does very poorly.

He could be a fit at Will if we do decide to try him, but honestly I’d like to see him move to Joker TE. If he’s got hands, he could be a monster there.

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